Port Orange man, Brett McPeek, made headlines for wearing sunglasses at night and holding two beers while in an armed stand-off with cops after threatening his neighbor with a firearm. This bizarre incident left many scratching their heads in disbelief. The sheer audacity of cracking open a cold one in such a tense situation adds a touch of dark humor to an otherwise serious event. It’s like something out of a wild movie scene, but this time it’s all too real.
The standoff lasted for a while, with McPeek refusing to surrender. He cracked open a brewski amid the tense situation, shocking both law enforcement and onlookers. The scene was surreal, with McPeek’s casual demeanor contrasting sharply with the gravity of the situation.
Bearded Florida man Brett McPeek can be heard saying ‘I’m going to crack this beer’ as an officer approaches him with a loaded gun.
Port Orange Police Department cops were called to his street on Tuesday night after a neighbor accused him of threatening them with a firearm.
‘The situation is, he’s used a vehicle multiple times and threatened me with a gun multiple times,’ the neighbor tells cops at the start of the footage – before he’s interrupted by the sound of gunshots coming from McPeek’s home.
‘You see what I mean?’ the neighbor says as a second gunshot rings out in the background.
The officers approach McPeek’s home and ask for his name, to which he replies ‘Brett’ from the darkness.
‘Stay right there,’ one cop tells him while angling his gun at the homeowner.
An apparently drunk McPeek replies: ‘I’m going to crack this beer, OK?’ and the sound of the ring-pull opening can be heard – though the suspect isn’t yet visible.
The officer questions whether McPeek has a firearm on him, to which he replies ‘no, sir’ and confirms that his wife is asleep in the house.
‘He just has two beers in his hand,’ the cop says to his HQ via the radio. ‘These beers are cold sir, I want to drink them. Come check me.’
‘I got you, just for right now we’re just going to stay right here, alright’ the cop says.
‘I’m gonna drink a beer is that cool?’ McPeek pushes on as the cop continues to point his gun at him. ‘I haven’t done nothin’ wrong.’
‘I want you to put your hands above your head for me,’ the cop says, to which McPeek replies: ‘Why?’
‘Because right now we’re trying to figure out what’s going on, bud, ok,’ the officer explains. ‘We want to make sure everybody’s safe, m’kay.’
The officer instructs McPeek to move to his right and approaches him. McPeek comes into view, with his hands raised with a beer can in each.
Wearing shades, pink knee-length shorts and a black t-shirt, McPeek is visible in the officer’s flashlight behind a picket fence and close to a trash can.
He deposits the beer cans on the ground and pushes his shades onto his head before saying ‘what am I doing wrong’.
McPeek walks forward with his arms raised in front of him. He complies with police officers’ orders to turn around and they handcuff him.
Port Orange Police Department said the peak Florida interaction came when officers responded to a ‘neighbor disturbance.’
‘Officers arrived on scene and while investigating, the suspect, identified as Brett McPeek, exited his residence and fired a firearm in the area of the officers, victim, and several neighbors who were outside at the time,’ the department said.
‘Officers moved in toward the sound of the gunshot and located Brett McPeek outside the front of his residence.
‘Officers negotiated with Brett McPeek and were able to safely take him into custody.’
The department said McPeek was ‘not in possession of the firearm at the time of the arrest’ but cops recovered two handguns, including a .38 Special revolver with a spent shell casing.
McPeek was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail with no bond for aggravated assault with a firearm and using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.
Brett McPeek’s nonchalant demeanor during an armed stand-off with the cops, all while holding two beers, adds a surreal twist to this already strange story. From the shooting incident to the strategic response of law enforcement and the community’s reactions, every detail paints a picture of a situation that seems straight out of a comedy sketch.
Flip to the next page for the video of Brett McPeek’s encounter with the cops…
